Sound machine

I think he was an obsessive inventor that wanted a result any way he coud get it. Obsession is a prevailing theme throughout the book. What starts out as piqued interest soon turns into full-fledged obsession, as Klausner resorts to cruel methods to elicit sounds from the plants, such as attempting to cut into the tree. This obsession eventually leads to his own demise as the branch from the tree falls and destroys his machine.